Sixty-two years ago, sixteen rabbis answered a call from Martin Luther King Jr. and came to St Augustine to stand against segregation. They were arrested at the Monson Motor Lodge on June 18, 1964, the largest mass arrest of rabbis in American history. This August, “When the Rabbis Came to Town,” a one-man play by Roger Rapoport and Leslye Witt, brought the story back to Temple Bet Yam, with Rabbi Allen Secher, now 91 and the last living member of the group, in the room to hear it.

As seen in Old City Magazine, Issue 15 (Sept/Oct 2026), pages 40–41. Read the full issue free.

Event photos by Yvette Monell

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